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The 3rd presidential debate, annotated

National
CLINTON-SMILE
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes the stage for the third presidential debate at University of Nevada in Las Vegas, N.Y., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Allison Graves
By Allison Graves
October 20, 2016
By Joseph Cariz
October 20, 2016
By Katherine Burns
October 20, 2016
By Rachel Tiede
October 20, 2016

PolitiFact is annotating the third and final presidential debate at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. We will be posting the transcript and our annotations through the night. Follow us on Medium and check back regularly to see our commentary.

Our Sources

Listed in the annotation

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Allison Graves
Democratic Governors Association
stated on July 13, 2018 in a post on Medium:
Says Adam Putnam “backed a water bill that gutted water quality regulations.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • July 18, 2018
Rick Scott
stated on June 13, 2018 in an ad:
Says Sen. Bill Nelson “voted for higher taxes” 349 times.
False
By Allison Graves • July 5, 2018
Ron DeSantis
stated on June 28, 2018 in a Fox News debate:
Says Adam Putnam “endorsed the Schumer-Obama Gang of Eight immigration amnesty.”
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018
Bill Nelson
stated on June 21, 2018 in an ad:
Says he “actually wrote the bipartisan law that makes it illegal to drill off Florida’s coast.”
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018
Adam Putnam
stated on June 7, 2018 in an interview with Fox News:
Florida taxpayers “pay tens of millions of dollars a year to feed and house in our prison system criminal illegal aliens.”
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • June 26, 2018
New Republican PAC
stated on June 11, 2018 in a political ad:
Says Bill Nelson voted for “cuts to Medicare providers” and voted to weaken “Social Security protections” as a U.S. senator.
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • June 15, 2018
Andrew Gillum
stated on June 20, 2018 in a debate:
Under Philip Levine, Miami Beach “passed a resolution to ban assault rifles, which was not enforceable and never enforced. He passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage, which actually no one got the benefit of because it was not enforced.”  
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 9, 2018
Florida Democratic Party
stated on June 6, 2018 in in a press release:
“Flip Flop! After opposing term limits for decades, Adam Putnam adopts Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis’ position.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • June 8, 2018
Ron DeSantis
stated on June 2, 2018 in during a BBQ :
“The bulk of the problem with the opioid epidemic is the fentanyl and all the synthetic drugs coming across the southern border.”  
Half-True
By Allison Graves • June 7, 2018
Florida House Majority Office
stated on May 17, 2018 in a video:
It is a “myth” that “per-student funding only rose by 47 cents this year.”
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • May 30, 2018
Senate Majority PAC
stated on May 21, 2018 in in an ad:
Says Bill Nelson is “one of America’s most independent senators.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • May 24, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 in a post on Facebook:
“BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump On His Way To Donate Kidney To Melania Trump.”
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 15, 2018 in a post on Facebook:
“Legendary Actor Sidney Poitier: Donald Trump might become ‘The Greatest Of All Time.’ ”  
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
The Collective super PAC
stated on May 11, 2018 in an ad:
Says Gwen Graham “voted against President Obama 52 percent of the time.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 in a post on the Internet:
Says Julia Roberts told Celine Dion, “If you hate Trump you can go in your country.”
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 15, 2018

The 3rd presidential debate, annotated

Clear
Sherrod Brown
stated on September 18, 2026 in an ad:
Sen. Jon Husted voted “to kick 490,000 Ohioans off their healthcare.”
Half-True
By Louis Jacobson • October 9, 2026
Angie Nixon
stated on October 4, 2026 in an Oct. 4 CBS Miami interview:
President Donald Trump has deported “over 13,000 Cubans since he has been in office, his first term and his second term.”
Mostly True
By Maria Briceño • October 9, 2026
Phil Berger
stated on October 7, 2026 in comments:
Suspending North Carolina’s gas tax
Full Flop
By Paul Specht • October 7, 2026
Zach Nunn
stated on September 8, 2026 in a social media post:
“We have cut the largest taxes in U.S. history.”
Mostly False
By Isabella Tisdale • October 7, 2026
Senate Leadership Fund
stated on September 22, 2026 in an ad:
Iowa U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Josh Turek “supports amnesty for illegals.”
Half-True
By Caleb McCullough • October 7, 2026
Markwayne Mullin
stated on October 1, 2026 in a speech at a rally in Oklahoma:
For President Donald Trump, “there’s no financial gain like the past presidents have had. It’s cost him to be in office.”
Pants on Fire!
By Louis Jacobson • October 5, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on October 4, 2026 in a Truth Social post:
Brazil’s quick election results are proof that places like Detroit, Philadelphia and California “take weeks to rig” their elections.
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • October 5, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on September 21, 2026 in an X post:
Roy Cooper was “in New York speaking at a New York Times ‘Climate Forward’ event” when Hurricane “Helene slammed into North Carolina.”
False
By Paul Specht • October 5, 2026
WinSenate
stated on September 25, 2026 in an ad:
Iowa Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson voted against releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Mostly False
By Loreben Tuquero • October 2, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on October 1, 2026 in a Truth Social post:
“I stated, numerous times, that it would take 4-6 weeks to get rid of THE IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT, and I did it in one night!”
False
By Amy Sherman, Maria Briceño • October 2, 2026
TikTok posts
stated on September 28, 2026 in a post:
These videos show scenes of alleged sexual assault at Cornell University.
Pants on Fire!
By Jeff Cercone • October 1, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on September 28, 2026 in an ad:
“Just months after” the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, David Jolly “was in Washington, pressuring Congress to expand drilling off the Florida coast, over $5 million in billings.”
Mostly False
By Samantha Putterman • October 1, 2026
Senate Leadership Fund
stated on September 16, 2026 in an ad:
Sherrod Brown supports “forcing childhood sex change surgery.”
False
By Louis Jacobson • October 1, 2026
John E. Sununu
stated on September 8, 2026 in his primary night victory speech:
“Chris Pappas voted to raise taxes 68 times. Every tax vote he’s made was to raise taxes.”
False
By Louis Jacobson • October 1, 2026
Mike Rogers
stated on September 24, 2026 in a TV interview:
Abdul El-Sayed “could not condemn the terrorist who tried to attack and kill 140 Jewish children right here in Michigan.”
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • October 1, 2026
Ashley Hinson
stated on September 2, 2026 in a social media post:
Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek “skipped 58% of the votes at the Statehouse this year.”
True
By Anna Mitchell • September 30, 2026
Mike Rogers
stated on September 23, 2026 in an X post:
“Abdul El-Sayed supports defunding the police and emptying prisons.”
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • September 28, 2026
WinSenate
stated on September 24, 2026 in an ad:
Sen. Susan Collins “voted to cover up the Epstein files” and Jeffrey Epstein’s “business partner funneled $3 million” to a Collins super PAC.
False
By Amy Sherman • September 28, 2026
Rob Sand
stated on August 24, 2026 in an ad:
Iowa once had “the best public schools in the country,” but is now “in the bottom half.”
Half-True
By Grace Olson • September 24, 2026
Republican National Committee
stated on September 2, 2026 in an X post:
“54% of North Carolina commercial driver’s licenses were issued illegally to foreign nationals.”
False
By Paul Specht • September 24, 2026
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